Letters of Darkness: A Kingdom Hearts Story
by BabyRodent
Summary: In the Realm of Darkness, those who enter are never expected to leave without a price to pay. But what happens when the words of those trapped in shadow make it to the Realm of Light?
1. Letter 1: To the Light

_To the Light,_

 _I wish that I could see you again. My brother and I are running in the dark, trying so hard to find warmth. Warmth is but a fleeting, fickle thing. It provides food for the stomach and it is a precious gift from you. The Darkness in this realm, likewise, is not very kind and forgiving. It takes and takes and takes without providing anything to give._

 _Once upon a time, we relied on you for warmth within your radiant wings and close to your living bosom. Now we are to rely on each other for what warmth we have left. Warmth became a luxury that comes so rarely. Strength, over the course of our stay inside of this realm, would also be rare as well, forcing us to keep running. Apollo was affected the worst between the two of us. He was once bright and bubbly with curly golden orange hair, olive skin, and youthful blue eyes that shined under the sun. Now, within the Realm of Darkness, the unforgiving nature has drained him of everything; his hair grew frizzled and dry, his skin paled out, and his eyes became lifeless and tired. His exposed scars had never healed in here, so they were surrounded by a mixture of dark red and purple bruising. But it is the center of his chest that is worrying the most- it is covered in crack marks coming from one large circular bruise with some coming up to his throat and wrapping around his throat._

 _Apollo is not the only one to have this situation, unfortunately. I discovered over and over that I had the same infliction as he did, including my periwinkle blue hair becoming frizzled and dried as well._

 _I have also grown exhausted with my own scars unable to heal in the Darkness, but I can fight it off. I cannot remember much of what I have done before, but what I do remember is that I have enough strength to keep going for the both of us._

 _My memory is betraying me again. Why is it that I can't remember more of what I did before?_

 _"Diana." My brother's voice wheezes after we had stopped somewhere temporarily as he had grown tired. We rested against a standing tree in this world as he brought his head on my shoulder. "Where are we again?"_

 _"The Darkness, Apollo..." I answered as I panted with each breath leaving a sharp impact on my heart. It hurts more to see my brother in this as he is the younger of the two of us. "These creatures are still after us. But no matter what happens to us, I'll still be here."_

 _How could I tell my twin brother that I had no confidence in what I told him? Ever since we came here, I didn't want to make promises that we would leave. Promises were meant to be kept if uttered, but it's never a promise if it's never uttered. Someone once told me that, but... but I can't remember who it was. Figures are heavily blurred and words pop like bubbles. Is my mind playing tricks on me?_

 _No, I have to focus. I must to tell you more._

 _"I... why are we here?" Apollo muttered as he started to go limp next to me._

 _"I wish I remembered," I can only answer to my brother._

 _That's when I heard something collapse and quickly looked around before carefully moving to stand on my bare feet. It must be the creatures and they've returned. Or they most likely gathered in clumps as always. But I had no intentions on leaving my brother behind._

 _"Apollo, we have to go now," I finally tell him as he looked up at me with exhaustion evident on his face. "I'm sorry, but we must keep going."_

 _Without an objection from him, I gathered what strength I have left and picked him up to carry him on my back as he relaxed. Then I started to run at a more slower pace as to prevent him from falling. The realm seemed to be going into disarray when large rocks- no, entire sections of worlds from your Realm- fell from above and landed around us, to which I had to detour from them in my run. While I could not be alarmed as this was not the first time this happened, I_ was _alarmed because it felt like the first time all over again and, this time, it was closer._

 _That's when I heard an unfamiliar sound and realized that it was a sign from you to give us something to keep us hoping that we were going to be alright._

 _In the distance was a dog with yellow fur and a loose green collar running towards us at a great speed, also avoiding being crushed as well, until getting near us and quickly sniffing us. This dog must have found out that we were not going to attack and decided not to attack us in return._

 _"It's a doggy..." Apollo muttered when I felt him shift a bit and noticed that he saw the dog. "Can we keep the doggy, Diana?"_

 _"For now, but we have to take cover somewhere safe," I responded as I knew that, with the inclusion of the dog, I have to be stronger now. "If we don't, then the creatures will have that chance to strike."_

 _When it was agreed upon that we would leave, the dog and I walked with Apollo on my back until we came across a broken piece of a world where the creatures were not in sight and it provided a safe haven. For now, the dog- "Pluto" as his collar reads- is by my right side and Apollo is relaxing on my left. As I write to you, I fear the worst in this cruel realm. At the same time, I think for the best as to what would happen in this realm as well. I feel that you sent us this ray of hope as a sign that things will be better soon; I can feel it in my veins._

 _Perhaps... perhaps we'll get out soon._


	2. Letter 2: To Memory

_To Memory,_

 _My twin brother and I miss you more than we expected to. As we walk through this world with the dog Pluto by our side, anything that we could remember from before this strange experience chip away one by one. At first, the ones we lost were minor details with little importance. Slowly, the important ones started to fragment and pull apart from each other with torturous pains of the heart each time. Apollo is the more affected one between the two of us, often clenching his chest with a choked cry of pain with the crack marks around his neck pulsing and moving to wrap around more._

 _It was a reminder of what I do remember before we went into the Realm of Darkness._

 _I remember... I remember bright yellow hair, light pink eyes, and... and a Keyblade. I remember how their face easily changed to one of cruel delight, the corners of their mouths almost reaching to the ears. Eyes that brightly glowed pink as the Keyblade drove through my and Apollo's chests, going through our hearts. In that moment, I saw everything change and then wondered why I haven't died yet. In that moment, I felt everything Shatter by that power- the power of Heart... and I wondered why neither one of us had died yet._

 _Why did you betray us, old friend? And why didn't you finish what you started?_

 _Oh. Pluto noticed our distress of trying to remember any form of recollections and took pity on us, softly whining with black ears drooping. I think he was wondering why he was also trapped as well in this world. But he is worried about Apollo more, and he's not wrong. He brought the top of his head up to my brother's hand to try and bring him comfort, which did get his attention, hoping this token would be enough._

 _Yet seeing Apollo smile for the first time in who knows how long is enough. That would be enough._

 _In that moment, I didn't think of our situation. Instead, I thought of the happy times that I could remember, times when Apollo was happy and energetic. It was soothing to see this coming from him even though our future, if any, didn't look too good._

 _By some twisted law of this Realm, happiness is but just a brief moment._

 _All around us were the creatures again, but this time, it was worse than before. They started to gather into clumps before catapulting into the air like some sort of collection of malicious bees. Then this Demon Tide suddenly hurled towards us in a spiral, forcing the three of us to flee as fast as we could. Apollo could barely catch up and collapsed on his knees, wheezing for air. I feared that he would not survive due to his condition, so I hurried over to him and braced myself in front of him as his human shield with hands out in front of myself._

 _Then I remembered something just as I would have felt an impact on me. Suddenly, it felt as if everything slowed down in this unforgiving realm and it gave me time for you to provide what might have been lost in here. It was a recollection of Apollo rushing to me in our final fight and standing in front me as a human shield so that he would protect me from our former friend. We were holding something in our hands as well- maybe we were fighting the one that used to be our friend- as we fought as hard as we could. I had to remember what was it that we were wielding._

 _You saved us, Memory. You showed me the one thing that I finally remembered as I felt something form in my grasp- the Keyblade! While it looked rusted from the lack of use, its golden shaft and light blue guard shined brighter than before. All I needed to do now was to use it against these creatures._

 _So, with the Keyblade in my grasp, I charged towards the Demon Tide as best as I could and warded it off, making sure that none of the creatures break off from their formation and dive towards either me or Apollo. If it means sending me to my doom, then so be it! My brother means more than my life, anyway. As it turned out, I remembered how to fight back and how to survive. With the Keyblade in my grasp, I warded off the Demon Tide as best as I did. This stopped the creatures for now, but I came to realize that this newfound energy from you- ah, it tightened my heart a bit._

 _Was this the price of using you as a power to get my weapon? Perhaps._

 _But now you are fading again. Please... come back._


End file.
